PC Cases and cooling for Graphics Cards

[Mr Bump]

I know there are a few gaming type folk here, i have a classic mid tower with my Nvidia 1060
as per standard the GC faces downward which is bad for cooling , seen loads of cases from inverted to those that have a seperate PCI/E riser etc
whats the story.

 

[JohnMcL7]

If you're meaning mounting the GPU on a 90 degree riser I think that's more for the visual look to the case than anything else. I have a much hotter running RTX 3080 FE with the less efficient cooler design sitting in the conventional position below the CPU in a tower with a toasty Ryzen 9 3900x along with two 140mm intake fans and a 140mm exhaust fan, it has no issues with heat at all.

 

[LancsMak]

Where have you heard it's bad for cooling? Typically the riser mounts are the worst due to proximity to the side of the case and reduced Airflow.

 

[LongLensPhotography]

You have to be doing something pretty extreme for extended periods for this to become a real issue and probably the fans are not configured properly in the case. ChatGPT should be able to advise you on that. If GPU is working overtime consider getting a more up to date variant.

 

[gman]

Different cards and different brands have different airflow designs, but I'd still stick with the traditional setup. As mentioned above, airflow is key, I personally prioritise getting the hot air out so I've probably got a slightly negative pressure setup, although there's little dust build up inside.

I've also added a custom fan in the middle of the case which blows straight over the GPU to help push the hot air generated out of the rear. The GPU never really gets all that hot (RTX5070), usually around the mid-50°C's. The CPU can hit the mid 70's during a game, but if it starts to go any higher I'll probably re-do the thermal paste.